Chicago friend says U.S. failed rebel leader

A wealthy West Chicago businessman who helped finance opposition leader Abdul Haq, who was captured and killed by the Taliban last week, said Sunday the U.S. government never fully supported the man he believes would have been key to forming a new government in Afghanistan.

"Basically, I have tried not to be too critical," Joseph Ritchie said. "But the way the U.S. government handled this situation could have been different."

Ritchie, 54, and his family lived in Afghanistan and still have strong ties there. His mother lives in Pakistan and works with Afghan refugees. His brother, James, was in Pakistan last week providing assistance to Haq when he and a small group crossed into Afghanistan.

The goal was to use U.S. cash to persuade Taliban loyalists to switch to the Afghan opposition. Haq met in Pakistan with U.S. diplomats and intelligence operatives before entering Afghanistan six days ago, U.S. officials said.

Early Friday, Ritchie received a frantic phone call from his brother who had been alerted by satellite phone that Haq's group had been spotted and surrounded by Taliban troops.

Ritchie contacted former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane to summon the U.S. government to come to Haq's rescue, Ritchie said

"I knew from the beginning his chances were slim," Ritchie said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that Haq called for help and then received air support. The assault by an unpiloted drone against one of the Taliban convoys that appeared to be closing in on Haq could not save the opposition leader.

Relatives said Haq and a companion were taken to a nearby barracks for trial and then hanged.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the communications the Ritchies said they had with Haq's convoy. Nor would the spokeswoman comment on the government's relationship with Haq.

McFarlane, who was a supporter of Haq, told the Los Angeles Times that the CIA seemed to regard Haq "as a self-interested grandstander."

Ritchie said he has been financially supporting Haq's opposition movement for about one year after helping broker a meeting with U.S. congressmen. Ritchie, who sold Chicago Research and Trading Group Ltd. for $225 million in 1993, declined to reveal how much he gave Haq.

Ritchie said that all Haq needed during the last year was a little American support and the Taliban would have crumbled.

Ritchie had lived part of his childhood in Kabul when his father was a civil engineer. When his younger brother, James, 44, married last year, he asked guests to make donations to the impoverished people of Afghanistan instead of buying him and his bride gifts.

Ritchie said Haq, 43, who had lost part of his leg in a mine explosion while he was fighting the Soviet Union in the 1980s, was disregarded by the Central Intelligence Agency because he was independent-minded. U.S. officials said Friday the CIA had regarded Haq as a promising figure in pulling a coalition together.

James Ritchie, who left Pakistan for Europe after Haq was hanged, said the State Department at one point had offered to help Haq with communications equipment only to rescind the offer days later.

"Abdul Haq has had no help whatsoever from the United States," James Ritchie said.

Haq gained his reputation as a tactician while fighting against the Soviets. He was a supporter of the deposed king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and even before the Sept. 11 attacks had been looking to develop military resistance against Taliban forces among other Pashtun tribal leaders.

Joseph Ritchie said he believes a government led by Shah offers Afghanistan its best chance at recovery after years of chaos in the war-torn country. He added that the U.S. government's goal of ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban would be more easily met if they supported a "moderate" opposition government like that of Shah and Haq.

"The problem is the Taliban is gaining sympathy and strength as this goes on," Ritchie said. "This needs to be changed from the United States against the Taliban to the Afghan people against the Taliban."